Using templates made this easier, but it was still difficult work due to the font style ‘Papyrus’ being so complicated (see logo pic at header). There are 8 character letters which were cut and prepared using firstly a course sandpaper then a fine paper after they were painted.

We have continued with the main colour for the business of Lime Green and used a vintage chalk paint smoothed to a perfect finish to make it as waterproof as possible. I tested this briefly under the tap and it runs off nicely 😀. Though just to make sure, a final coat of sealer was sprayed onto each letter to make sure.

Next stage is to cut up some pallets i have collected to make the boarding to mount the letters onto.

Set in 90 acres of lush Devon countryside, Seale-Hayne College is on the outskirts of Newton Abbot where Hannahs provides learning, care, support and real choice to children and adults with a range of disabilities.
Hannahs vision is to live in a society where people with disabilities experience the same opportunities to work, train, learn and live. To fulfil their true potential without judgement or limit: a society where disability is incidental.

The 2 day event captured the spirit of the organisation perfectly, with several stalls proudly manned by their students showcasing their impressive products. Opposite us were students of the Horticultural College Green Woodwork course selling garden related products. These included Log trays, Planters, Birdfeeders, Shelves and Boxes of original design and superb handmade quality.

The event opened from 10am and visitors were welcomed at the entrance by a 20ft recycled metal sculptured Cola Can Christmas Tree- amazing! Through the granite archway into the main square revealed the Main Staging area for live music, Artworks, Bistro Bar and refreshment stalls serving mulled wine, fresh coffee and mince pies.

Each of the buildings off the main square and beyond was host to the 90 stall holders in 20 rooms located around the grounds and a map was provided. This provided an exciting journey around the college and on the way discovering project rooms, Santas grotto, and childrens choir singing christmas carols!

We were located to the north west of the main square in The Chapel, which provided a snug place to find 12 stallholders selling their precious creations. We were showing Upcycled Furniture, Vinyl Record Clocks and various unique Eco gifts. Whilst our neighbours offered jewellery, recycled christmas decorations, beautiful childrens inspired art, amazing mozaics, garden craft products, wood carving, lavender bags and autumn inspired pottery. The great hall held the most sellers, and popular items across the site included Bags, Clothing, Blankets, Sculptures, Recycled Lamps, Housewares, personalised Plaques, Wood Craft Bowls, felt Jackets, and Glassware .

The event lasted until 4pm both days with attendance well over 2500 for the both days. With thanks to the Hannahs Charity for this superb christmas event and special thanks to Susan for her excellent organisation to bring us altogether without a hitch!

We have both been looking at the shop branding since we sold off the Recycling Collection Service business last year, this shop has to say we are about recycling i have been saying to Jo.
We currently have the corporate office style lettering on a plain white plastic board, well thats ok for recycling waste services but doesnt inspire excitement for customers looking for beautiful homeware, gifts and crafts!

Jo recently done a facebook post on recycling pallets into furniture, so theres a great supply of underused resource that i could use! The pallet wood i recently used to remake a metal framed table in a beach hut style with each short piece of timber a different colour. This effect would look great above the shopfront window in our shop colours of Lime Green, Berry and Chocolate Brown. These colours we use in the shop to represent the types of product we sell -Recycled(green) Organic(brown) and Fairtrade(purple)

I have begun to cut the letters from old pine furniture as the pallet wood is not wide enough, and they will be mounted proud of the boards to stand out. Jo had the idea of fixing them with bedsprings so they move in the wind, and i suggested that i could backlight them with a Solar Powered LED string.

When the last storms tore down our old fence panels at home I decided to add something a little different!
The boundary fence has an odd section where the garden is terraced to the rising garden. This odd section is about the size of a door, I could have cut a door to fit but wanted more morning light to the kitchen.
We had already created a bottle wall in the garden with 400 recycled wine bottles and now are creating a variation of this that isn’t quite so dense. Fixing old bed springs recycled from an old mattress to a solid treated frame, we plan to insert the bottles Inside the springs for a totally unique feature.
The first pic shows what we plan to do, and the second shows the space filled with mattress springs ready for the bottle to be fixed in. We have found though that springs and bottle vary slightly in size, so a little adjustment and snipping is required.
I will post later an update when i have filled the spaces with bottles!

Inspired recently by Paignton Zoo who built a greenhouse recycled entirely from plastic drinks bottles. This is a great use of one of our most wasteful single use products, helping to avoid the problem in landfill. Imagine the water and energy gone into the production of plastic bottles, and then once its empty, discarded! it’s a terrible waste.
We have asked our lovely customers to bring in their bottles for the last few months and have several hundred now awaiting construction!